A rare bronze horse and chariot were unearthed in Ziyang, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to Sichuan Provincial Archaeology Research Institute.

The bronze funeral object is believed to have been built in the Han Dynasty (206 BC -- 220 AD) or even earlier in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC -- 206 BC), according to preliminary study.

The object was buried in a chamber about nine meters from the ground. Archeologists also found an ancient tomb about ten meters from the ground.

The horse and chariot are the first ever discovered in Sichuan Province. The tomb owner is thought to have been a high-ranking official or royal member since his tomb owned a bronze horse and chariot, said Wang Lumao, an archaeologist with the Sichuan Provincial Archeology Research Institute.

China's most important horses and chariots are those found in Qinshihuang Mausoleum in Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, where China's first emperor buried a lot of horses and chariots in his underground palace.
 
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2005)